The politics of a bull fight

As a former lobbyist, I am well aware of how politics influences everything around us. What I've come to realize is that even the animals on the ranch have a pecking order… much like seniority in the House and Senate.

You see, we have a pasture for the bulls in the season when they aren't with the cows. In this pasture, we keep 5-7 bulls and we try to keep them there as best we can. One of them, who Bob calls lover boy, likes to be fed every day. So when he was only getting fed once a week, he decided to hop the fence and come visit the lots where he could get a meal. 

I decided to take him back to the pasture one day, and was met at the gate by two of his companions in the pasture. 

Well… that meant trouble. At first, they just cocked their head to the side and blew snot at each other. I know it's gross, but they're bulls and that is just what they do. From there, they decided to pace around and paw the ground… kicking up a bunch of dust. 

And then they decided to go after it. Each bull wanting to show that he was the manliest in the pasture. I proceeded to head in the other direction, hoping to lure one of them away from the fight. Not to brag, but it was the Hereford bull that followed me in the feed wagon. I don't know if that makes him a wuss or really smart to avoid a fight… but he got fed and avoided conflict. To me, that's a win!

I decided to let the two Angus bulls fight it out over their territory. It's not safe to stick around with all those hormones in the air, so I came back to check on them and surveyed the damage about an hour later. Unlike earlier this year when two bulls tore down the gate, these two left the fence mostly unharmed. At some point, one of the bulls surrendered. They're all healthy and mostly getting along, so I'd say there's as much peace as there ever will be when you have 5 bored bulls in a pasture just waiting for the day we take them to the ladies. 

Texas Cowboy Reunion

During the 4th of July week, the citizens of Stamford, Texas pay homage to our western heritage with their annual Texas Cowboy Reunion. This year was my first trip to the rodeo and other events that take place during the TCR.

On Tuesday evening, there was a fundraising auction for the West Texas Rehabilitation Center. The art show is a big event for my boyfriend's family and we enjoyed the evening's festivities immensely. We even came home with some new pieces for the ranch houses!

On Wednesday, the rodeo began. I had to miss the parade due to needing to feed cows… story of my life… but I was there and ready for the Grand Entry when it began.  Our seats were fantastic each night, and it was really fun to watch the cowboys ride and rope!

On Saturday, I got to judge the annual chuck wagon cook off and was rewarded with some fantastic vittles. I'm glad that James asked Ben and I to do it! The teams are judged on their food, the authenticity of their camp and equipment, and their hospitality. 

Later that evening, James and I had dinner at the TCR guest cabin, which is where we first met back in September. It was fun to go back to that place and enjoy a special dinner with good friends. Our family friend Belinda snapped a great picture of the two of us. 

After the rodeo, we enjoyed another night of dancing… I hadn't danced that many nights in a row since my days in 4-H!! We also had a small fireworks show to celebrate the 4th. I can't wait to join Stamford again next year for another round of the Texas Cowboy Reunion!

The Fort Griffin Fandangle- a celebration of our local heritage

When I was in grade school, my mother received an invitation to participate in the Fort Griffin Fandangle by a family friend of ours, Mr. Watt Matthews. She was attending a sampler performance with my dad, as he did all the veterinary work for the Matthews Ranch, and went up to speak with Mr. Watt afterward. He invited our family to be a part of the show.

Albany, Texas, our neighboring town, has always been a special place. So many of my childhood memories revolve around the Fandangle. Summers spent in prairie dresses and Indian costumes, telling the story of the settling of west Texas. Friendships formed over shared experiences in those terribly hot dresses, chigger bites, square dancing circles, and those Indian hair wigs!

The Fandangle began over 75 years ago as the senior play for Albany High School. Bob Nail, a Princeton trained playwright and son of Albany served as the first creative director with his dear friend Alice Reynolds. The town loved the play so much they recreated it as a community theater performance and decided to act out the scenes every year. Now, up to 250 local actors sing the old songs and tell the wonderful stories from our ancestors. Each year, the show is a little different, but the magic comes alive when the sun sets the last two weekends in June.

This year, I took our Rural Young Professionals group to the show.  We heard from my neighbor and the show's narrator, Connie Wood at the Old Jail Art Center before enjoying BBQ and the show.

In the picture on the right, you'll see the famous herd of Longhorns from Ft. Griffin. The song about herding cattle, the Cowboy Prayer has long been one of my favorites.

Also one of my favorite parts of the show? The saloon scenes from the Beehive in old Ft. Griffin.

"Until we meet again, let's go drink up the wine. 

Think of me now and then and remember this heart, 

Too bad we had to part, remember this heart of mine!"

Moving Cows

Texas has been in a drought for over a decade. We at the ranch have tried to make the best of the available forage by instituting a herd management program that rotates the herd of cows between pastures at a rate we calculate based on the available grass in that pasture. In 2015, the rains have been plentiful to date and we are excited about all the grass in the pastures. However, grazing must still be rotational so that we don't overgraze some places and under graze others.

Most of the time when we move cows, it's just me and the truck. I use the siren to call them up, get a good count, and then move them from one place to the other.  Usually the pastures are contiguous, so it's fairly easy to get them situated in their new home.

Last week, we needed to move the cows across 4 pastures, so we enlisted the help of some cowboys to help us move them. It was much better with 3 folks on horseback than it would have been with just me!

The cows are belly deep in grass. We gathered them in this pasture to move them into a new home. 

Starsky and I wait for dad to get a good count at the gate as we're going into the new pasture. 

If I'm working at 7 pm on a Friday night, a cold beverage helps!

TSCRA Ranching 101

Last week, I was invited to take part in a ranching panel at the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raiser's Association office in Fort Worth. Each month, they host farmers and ranchers and offer insight on different issues related to herd health and ranch management. 

One of my favorite things about the TSCRA building is the walls. Each of them are designated to a specific county in Texas and the brands from that county are emblazoned on the wall. Stephens county is located in the refreshment room, so the lighting isn't great for a picture of the Muleshoe brand. 

 Brand wall in the front entrance of TSCRA Headquarters. 

Since moving back to Texas, I have been trying to get more involved with this group that advocates on behalf of ranchers and landowners in Texas and the surrounding states. The timing hasn't always been right, but I have made a few meetings and the annual convention. 

When my friend Stacy asked me to serve on the panel of ranchers, I was honored to be a part of the discussion. My fellow panelists were a ranching neighbor of ours and a large scale cattle buyer. We fielded questions from men and women of all ages on feeding and nutrition, vaccinations, bull purchases, and many other topics. It was a learning experience for all of us. I'm so glad to have had the opportunity to spend the day in Cowtown!

Photo courtesy of the TSCRA Facebook Page

Welcome Back!

Well… I decided to fire up the blog again.

Not that the blog was ever very popular. I think the only people who read it were some high school girlfriends.

At the urging of some DC friends who wanted an update on life on the ranch, I thought it would be fun to write a post from time to time to talk about my new life with the cows.

It's timely that I am writing this post now, as we just finished working calves this past week. These calves were born right as I moved back to the ranch.  On tough days, when I was missing friends, a boss who didn't yell at me and the cool weather of a fall in DC, these babies made me remember why I was here.

Last week, we had the cowboys out to the ranch to help us gather the herd and break in the new pens. Earlier this spring, we tore down the pens built by my great-grandfather so that we could build some that were big enough to work the entire herd in. While the pens were likely top notch of their time, we needed something efficient enough for the ranching operation of today.

Here are some pictures of the new pens in action:

The cowboys are sorting calves into the working pens- we have one for heifers, steers and bulls.

Dad gives me a "put down the camera and get back to work" look.

Cowboys push up the calves through the tub and down the alley so they can be processed. 

The babies are hungry!

Now that the cattle have been weaned, we have their mamas across the fence so that they can still see them. Most ranching experts say that this is easier on both the babies and the cows.  I think the cows are mostly jealous that the calves get fed two times a day…. while they get fed every few days. Trust me, there's more than enough grass to go around, but they're gluttons!

Yesterday, we split the heifers and steers from the bulls. We moved the bulls to the lots at the headquarters, so that they can start a different ration. We give them an advanced feed so that they will have superior carcass data when they're screened this fall.

Here's a photo of some of the bulls eating from their self feeders this morning:

We give all the calves plenty of hay as well, so they're eating for most of the day. There's also ample shade to shield them from the Texas heat. We are excited to get these calves registered and named over the coming weeks. 

Now, it's back to my spreadsheets of calf data. Until next time… sending lots of love from the ranch!

Most wonderful time of the year....

Howdy friends. 

Yes, I know it's been a long time since I've posted anything. Yes, I need a life update post for those of you live far away. No, this post has nothing to do with Christmas.

IT'S AWARDS SHOW SEASON!!!

I know this makes me a little shallow, but I simply adore sitting around with my girlfriends critiquing the red carpet gowns and cheering for some of the critically acclaimed movies and actors.

I am cheering for The King's Speech to go all the way. Colin Firth did an incredible job and I just loved their portrayal of such an important time in Britain's history. 

Last night was the Golden Globes. This one is one of my favorite shows because they allow drinking there... you never know what will happen toward the end of the night. Ricky Gervais hosted again and though some of his remarks were off color, you have to admit he was funny. He's one of those equal opportunity offenders.

The 80's made a bit of a comeback last night... talk about some serious shoulder pads. I think they might have robbed my mom's hidden stash. Some of the ladies rocked the look and others, well, not so much!

For my money, the best dressed ladies of the night were Catherine Zeta-Jones, Claire Danes and Kyra Sedgwick. 

Other lovely ladies were Mila Kunis, Eva Longoria and Lea Michelle.

On the not-so-best dressed list... I would put January Jones, JLo, Scarlett Johanssen, and Anne Hathaway. Tilda Swinton and Helena Bonham Carter deserve a category of weird all their own. For HBC, it works... for Tilda, not so much.

Jane Krakowski had the best baby bump of the evening. Chris Colfer from Glee had the best acceptance speech. 

All in all, it was a great evening with my roomie and some of my best gal pals... we ate, we laughed, we judged.  I cannot wait for the SAG awards and the grand-daddy of them all... Oscar!